The Student Assembly voted to hold a referendum to poll the student body on whether Cornell should publicly support a ceasefire in Gaza and divest from weapons manufacturers “supporting the ongoing war in Gaza” at its March 21 meeting.
The Student Assembly Charter states: “[A] Call for a Referendum is an action of the student body to determine community opinion regarding matters of student concern.” The Assembly previously rejected a resolution calling for divestment, but the Coalition for Mutual Liberation has held several pro-divestment demonstrations since.
The referendum will prompt students to answer whether they are in favor or against Cornell divesting from several weapons manufacturers, including Boeing and Lockheed Martin, that are “supporting the ongoing war in Gaza.” It will also ask students to vote on whether Cornell University should call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, according to the divestment petition form.
The referendum states “Cornell has investments in companies supporting the ongoing war in Gaza, which has been deemed as a ‘plausible genocide’ by the International Court of Justice in South Africa v. Israel.”
Students will have a 36-hour long window to answer the questions. This survey will be sent alongside a list of three points for and three points against adopting the proposal. According to the charter, the executive vice president calls for pro or con statements about the referendum questions from any Cornell community members.
If a majority of undergraduate students vote yes, then the Office of the President will receive the results of the referendum question. They will be required to respond with the president’s intention to either reject or implement a policy concerning the question within 30 days.
CML, a pro-Palestine coalition of over 40 campus and local organizations, advocated for students to sign the divestment petition form in favor of including questions on a student referendum ballot. CML also led several pro-divestment demonstrations, including occupying Day Hall on Thursday, March 21, and protesting outside Sage Hall — where the Board of Trustees met — on Friday, March 22.
While CML is not a registered student organization, the petition was sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace at Cornell with several co-sponsors including Students for Justice in Palestine, the Arab Student Association, and Cornell Progressives, according to the divestment petition form.
The S.A. charter states that a student or student group can submit a referendum to the S.A. after garnering the support of at least 3 percent of the undergraduate student body, which comes out to approximately 470 students.
Adrián Cardona Young ’26, president of Cornell’s Jewish Voice for Peace, said the referendum was signed by over 950 undergraduate students while presenting the referendum at the S.A. meeting.
“We’ve done demonstrations, and we’ve made statements. So to that end, we are here to propose a referendum that allows the decision to be taken into the student body’s hands,” said Vice President of Cornell Students for Justice in Palestine Sadeen Musa ’25.
While the referendum ultimately passed in a 15 to 10 vote, it faced resistance from S.A. members.
Freshman Representative David Diao ’27 expressed concern about the binary options for student responses.
“This will be a yes or no decision. Yes, meaning there is an ongoing genocide promoted by the State of Israel. No, there is not,” Diao said. “There is no room for dialogue. There is no room for unity. You are either for or against this.”
The S.A. charter stipulates that referendum questions are “neutrally worded” and ask for a yes or no response.
Supporters of the referendum argued that the questions, though binary, would reduce tensions in the future.
“The referendum is a way that finally the student body gets a vote,” Musa said. “And yes, it’s binary, but at the same time, I feel like after all this time, it’s good that we have a final opinion that properly represents the student body to prevent future tensions.”
Assembly members also expressed concern about the logistics of the referendum.
“If you send this referendum as it is, [the administration] can claim, ‘Oh, the referendum was not neutral’, or something about their tax-exempt status,” said Vice President of Internal Operations Clyde Lederman ’26. “We need something that the University can act on and that is actionable, and it’s not in that form right now.”
Despite this concern, other Assembly members continued to support the referendum as is.
“It’s not the responsibility of the Student Assembly to make large stances on world issues, but it is our responsibility to listen to students,” stated Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion, Aissatou Barry ‘24. “It’s our responsibility to give [students] the opportunity to tell us what they think.”